State: Crist refiles campaign report to clarify receipt of contributions

Crist refiles campaign report to clarify receipt of contributions

By STEVE BOUSQUET and STEPHANIE SCRUGGS

TALLAHASSEE -- After listing $3,500 in campaign funds before opening his campaign account, attorney general candidate Charlie Crist has submitted a revised report that shows the checks arrived after his account was open, according to law.

Crist, a Republican who is now education commissioner, calls it an "inadvertent" mistake by a campaign treasurer who initially relied on the dates on the checks themselves instead of the date they were received.

"We've just got to make sure it's done right and make sure it's done according to Hoyle," said Crist, a former state senator from St. Petersburg. "It was just a matter of wanting it to reflect what the facts were."

His original campaign report listed seven checks of $500 each on April 3 and 5. But he did not open a campaign account until April 6.

That is against the law, punishable as a first-degree misdemeanor, according to Division of Elections Director Clay Roberts.

"The law says you cannot receive contributions until you have designated a campaign treasurer and a campaign depository," Roberts said.

Crist's amended report, filed July 30, lists the seven checks as having been received April 21. Crist said his treasurer initially used the dates on the checks themselves rather than the dates the checks were actually received. Neither Crist nor his campaign treasurer could explain why the second report changes the dates of 88 other contributions, for a total of $46,000, from various dates in mid-April to April 21 -- a Saturday.

Much of the money came in $500 increments from individuals and companies in Panama City Beach, Pensacola, Gulf Breeze and Port St. Joe, where Crist said he began his fundraising in April. Campaign treasurer Frederick Carroll III, a Tallahassee CPA, reached Friday, said he could not comment without seeing the report. By filing a new report as allowed by law, Crist, who's in his third campaign in three years and has raised $745,000 since April, may have spared himself an embarrassment as he seeks to become Florida's chief legal officer.

Roberts said the state Elections Commission looks for signs of willfulness in prosecuting election law violations. If a complaint were filed against Crist, Roberts said, the amended report could be cited as evidence that Crist sought to correct any original mistakes. The elections official also said some candidates refund any suspect contributions to avoid problems.

Crist's GOP opponent, state Sen. Locke Burt, R-Ormond Beach, said Crist's explanation is troubling because the earlier dates on the checks indicate he was soliciting campaign money before opening the account. That's against the law, Burt said. "I think that before somebody writes you a check, you've got to ask for a check," Burt said. "You'd think a person who wants to be the chief law enforcement officer would demand that his campaign follow the law."